Penny



No. 6ll,l6l. Patented Sept. 20, I898. A. B. WIMPENNY.

' APPARATUS FOR WASHING PRINTERS BLANKETS, &c.

(Application filed Dec. 24, 1896.)

(No Model.)

A lNVENTOR NITED STATES PATENT mes.

APPARATUS'FOR WASHING PRINTERS BLANKETS, 80 G.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 611,161, dated September 20, 1898.

Application filed December 24, 1896. Serial No. 616,902. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABEL BUoKLnY WIM- PENNY, calico-printer, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Hayfield, in the county of Derby, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of and Means for Cleansing Calico-Printers Blanketing, Floor-Cloth- Printers Blanketing, and the Like; and I do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My said invention relates to improvements in the method of and means for cleansing calico-printers blanketing, floor-cloth-printers blanketing, and the like. Under the pres ent practice it is usual when cleansing such blanketing to subject the blanketing to the action of reciprocating or revolving brushes, by means of which and with the aid of water or other liquid the soiled surface of the blan keting is more or less cleansed. This method is subject to certain disadvantages, the brushes operating on the colors with which the surface of the blanketing is charged havin g a tendency to rub the colors into the fabric and cause the same to spread over a larger surface. Moreover, the brushes become clogged with color and lint from the blanketing,which renders them less effective.

The object of my invention is to obviate these disadvantages. To effect this, I remove the greater portion of the color and lint from the blanketing before the same is operated upon by the washing apparatus by means of a highly-polished revolving roller adjusted so as to be lightly in contact with the soiled surface of the blanketing. The roller re volves in a direction contrary to the direction of the traverse of the blanketing and at a speed in excess of the same. The greater portion of the color and lint with which the blanketing is charged is thus caused to ad here to the surface of the revolving roller; and in order that my invention may be more fully understood Iwill now describe the same with reference to the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings.

In the said drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of an apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention, a part only of such apparatus being shown for want of space.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the'apparatus.

Figs. 3 and 4 are detail views of the means for adjusting the doctor.

A roller a, preferably of cast-iron and having a highly-polished surface, is mounted to revolve in bearings carried by end standards I). If desired, the surface of the roller a may be coated or plated with any suitable metal not likely to be chemically affected by the coloring-matter, which plating may be most conveniently efiected by electrodeposition.

The shaft a of the roller a is mounted in bearing-blocks 0, adjustable vertically in the pedestals d by means of the adj usting-screws d, operated by hand-wheels d Upon the shaft a are mounted fast and loose pulleys a a by means of which the roller a is driven from any suitable source, or chain-gearing may be employed to drive the roller (1. It will be understood that the roller a may be formed of any convenient length to suit the Width of blanketing to be operated upon. The blanketing to be operated upon and indicated by the dotted line e is passed beneath the roller a and over the roller f. The roller a is adjusted by means of the screws 0?, so as to bring its circumference lightly in contact with the soiled surface of the blanketing e, and the color and lint with which the surface of the blanketing is charged adheres to the periphery of the roller (1. A doctor g is provided to cleanse the surface of the roller from the color and lint obtained from the blanketing and maintain the periphery of the roller bright and clean. The doctor g is held in clamps g, the lower or bed clamp being formed with trunnions giwhich can be adj usted vertically in slots 2', formed in the brackets j, bolted to the end standards I) by means of thumb-screws h, Fig. 3. The brackets j carry nuts 76, formed with recesses for the reception of the trunnions g of the doctor g. By operating the thumb-screws h the nuts k are raised and lowered, correspondingly raising and lowering the doctor 9 and varying the angle at which it is presented to the periphery of the roller. This method of adjustment of the doctor is clearly shown in the sectional View, Fig. 3.

Another method of adjusting the doctor 9 is shown in Fig. 4. In this case the angle at too which the doctor g is presented to the roller a is constant. The trunnions g of the doctor g are mounted in bearing-pieces 7t,adapted to slide in the angular slots '1', formed in the brackets j. The bearing-pieces 70 are raised and lowered toward and from the roller (1 by means of thumb-screws h. Upon the ends of the trunnions of the doctor are mounted levers l, to which are attached springs m, connected at their lower ends to adjusting screwbolts n, sliding in brackets 0. By means of nuts 19 any required degree of tension may be communicated to the springs 01., which thus maintain the doctor g against the periphery of the roller a with any required degree of pressure. The color and lint scraped from the periphery of the roller a by the doctor g are discharged into a trough (1, which is carried by brackets r, bolted to the standards b. Upon leaving the roller a the blanketing is led away over the roller f to a suitable Washing apparatus.

The blanketing being deprived of the greater mass of color and lint is more easily cleansed by the brushes of the washer, and as the necessity for prolonged or severe scrubbing is obviated the life of the blanketing is thereby prolonged.

If considered desirable, the interior of the roller may be heated by means of gas, steam, or other heating means in order to increase the adhesive properties of the roller.

WVhere the blanketing has been used with a single color of costly nature, a considerable saving will be eitected by the recovery of a quantity of such color by means of my invention.

Although I have described my invention as being applied as an adjunct to a blanketwashing apparatus, I do not confine myself to this use alone. For instance, the apparatus might be applied to a calico-printing machine, fioorcloth printing machine, or the like, so as to deprive the blanketing of the color and lint during the working of the machine or at intervals. By these means the blanketing would not require to be washed or cleansed so frequently as is at present the case.

Although I have referred to the use of one roller only, more than one roller might be used.

I claim In a machine of the character described, the combination of the roller a, the doctor g in contact with said roller, the clamp g for holding said doctor, said clamp comprising two sections, the lower of which is provided with trunnions g adjustable bearing-boxes 70 for receiving and supporting said trunnions, means for adjusting said boxes, an arm Z secured to said trunnions, and an adjustable spring m connected to said arm, substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed the 8th day of December, 1896.

ABEL BUGKLEY \VIMPENNY.

Witnesses:

JOSHUA ENTWISLE, RICHARD IBBERSON. 

